DDH patients and healthy controls

DDH patients were consecutively recruited between 2017 and 2018 from the orthopedics clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The healthy subjects are participated in the study at the same time. Diseases such as osteoarthritis, metabolic bone disease and DDH were excluded from the control group. Our study comprises of 90 individuals (45 healthy controls and 45 DDH patients), and the mean age ± SD of controls and patients was 42 ± 15.2 and 45 ± 12.6, respectively. The male-to-female ratio was equal in patient and control groups (5 males and 40 females). The control individuals had neither family history nor clinical evidence of arthritis or any inflammatory disorders. The control samples were taken from people who were under a hemi- or total arthroplasty operation because of femoral head fracture. These cartilage samples are actually obtained from individuals with healthy femoral head. The Human Research Ethics Committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences approved this study (IR.TUMS.IKHC.REC.1397.179). Informed consent was obtained from all control and patient subjects.